Tube Holder for a Bobbin Frame of a Winding Device

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a tube holder (6, 7) for a bobbin frame (1) of a winding device, having a conical tube holder element (23), a retaining element (24), and a spring element (25). The tube holder element (23) is nonrotatably connected to the retaining element (24) via the spring element (25), and the spring element (25) is designed as a spring washer.

The present invention relates to a tube holder for a bobbin frame of a winding device, and a bobbin frame having such a tube holder.

These types of tube holders are used for retaining bobbin tubes in winding devices of textile machines of various designs, for example final spinning machines or winding machines. Bobbin tubes are held by two tube holders in each case, and are set in rotation via a drive, thereby winding a thread or a yarn. Various types of bobbin tubes are used, having a cylindrical or conical shape and made of various materials such as plastic or paper. The bobbin tubes may be designed with or without side flanges. During the winding, the thread is moved back and forth along a longitudinal axis of the bobbin tube by a traverse unit, thus forming various structures and shapes of windings. The drive of the bobbin tube is provided directly via a motor that sets at least one of the tube holders in rotation, or is provided indirectly via a friction roller situated in parallel to the bobbin tube. The friction roller may be designed as a so-called grooved drum. The grooved drum is provided with a yarn guide, which is guided in slots by the rotation of the grooved drum in such a way that the thread is moved back and forth. For a direct drive of the bobbin tube, the traversing of the thread is to be provided by a separate laying unit, and the bobbin tube is supported via a backing roller. The thread is clamped between the backing roller and the bobbin tube, or the thread that is already on the bobbin tube, and is thus laid down on the bobbin tube.

The bobbin tube is clamped between two oppositely situated tube holders. The tube holders are each rotatably fastened to a retaining arm that is attached to a shared swivel arm. The diameter of the thread that is wound onto the bobbin tube continuously increases due to a winding operation. As a result, the distance between the backing roller and the longitudinal axis of the bobbin tube increases, which is compensated for by a movement of the retaining arms about a swivel axis of the swivel arm. After the winding operation is completed, the tube holders are moved apart in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the bobbin tube, so that the bobbin may be removed and an empty bobbin tube may be inserted. Movement of one or both bobbin tubes is possible, wherein the movement may take place linearly or also in the form of a swivel motion. Manual or motorized designs are known from the prior art for moving the tube holders as well as the retaining arms.

The requirements for concentricity of the bobbin tubes, and thus, uniform contact of the bobbin tubes with the backing roller or friction roller, imposed for achieving good bobbin quality, have become ever more stringent as the result of increased productivity and diversity of the threads and yarns to be processed. The concentricity of the bobbin tubes is influenced on the one hand by the tolerances in the structural design of the winding device, and on the other hand by the geometric shape of the bobbin tube itself. Bobbin tubes are used multiple times, as the result of which, in addition to tolerances in manufacturing, they show signs of use, which may lead to intensified imbalances when the bobbin tube is rigidly clamped between the tube holders. Tube holders are known for which attempts have been made to achieve flexible clamping of the bobbin tube by the selection of materials or a combination of various types of materials. In addition, as disclosed in WO 2008/128590 A1, for example, tube holders having a ball joint have been proposed.

A disadvantage of the known designs of tube holders is that perfect concentricity of the bobbin tube, based on a flexible tube holder, is achieved only by contact with the backing roller under a high force. With an articulated design of the tube holder, a direct drive of the bobbin tube via the tube holder is not possible.

The object of the present invention, therefore, is to propose a tube holder that provides centering of the bobbin tube as the result of clamping the bobbin tube between the tube holders, with compensation for the tolerances and imprecision of the tube, wherein transmission of a torque is made possible by establishing a rotatably fixed connection of the bobbin tube to the tube holder due to the clamping.

The object is achieved by the devices having the features of the independent claim.

A tube holder for a bobbin frame of a winding device is proposed, having a conical tube holder element, a retaining element, and a spring element. The tube holder element is nonrotatably connected to the retaining element via the spring element, and the spring element is designed as a spring washer. Transmission of a torque from the retaining element via the spring element to the tube holder element is possible due to the rotatably fixed connection of the tube holder element to the retaining element. A direct drive of the bobbin tube that is held on the tube holder elements may be achieved in this way. An indirect drive with a friction roller, which transmits the drive force via friction between the friction roller and the yarn that is already wound onto the bobbin tube, may be replaced by a direct drive of the bobbin tube, which provides the advantage of winding that is gentle on yarn.

A spring washer is understood to mean a ring-shaped design of a spring, wherein “ring-shaped” means that the spring washer has an outer circumferential edge and has an opening in the center. The outer circumferential edge and the central opening are not necessarily circular; within the meaning of the present patent application, embodiments having an outer circumferential edge in the shape of a polygon and having a square opening, for example, are also understood as a spring washer. Likewise, the resilient effect or also the damping effect of the spring washer may be increased or controlled in a certain direction by a formation of slots or elevations. In addition, material combinations such as steel and plastic, or differently shaped cross-sectional profiles are conceivable. A large variety of shapes and designs of spring washers is known in the prior art which may find application here. In any event, the spring washer that is used provides stability in allowing a torque to be transmitted to the drive of the bobbin tube.

The spring washer is advantageously formed from a spring plate having a central opening and at least four fastening holes that are situated concentrically with respect to the central opening. It has been shown that use of a plate is suitable for transmitting the necessary torque, and at the same time, for providing this drive with the necessary flexibility or spring action for compensating for imprecision in the bobbin tube clamping. The required spring action must be provided by the sections of the spring washer that are available between the fastenings in the fastening holes of the spring washer on the tube holder element and on the retaining element. The elastic action of the spring element is increased in the areas between the fastening holes due to the central opening in the spring plate. Alternatively, it is possible to provide slots, multiple openings, or other measures that change the cross section. Three fastening holes are in each case preferably provided in the spring washer for fastening the tube holder element on the one hand and the retaining element on the other hand. Due to the required fastening holes for the fastenings, a hexagonal circumferential edge with a circular central opening has proven to be an advantageous shape for the spring washer.

In addition, it is advantageous when the spring washer is made up of at least four spring plate elements arranged in a ring, wherein the individual spring plate elements at their mutually facing ends are movably connected to one another by hollow pins. In this design, the hollow pins not only ensure the formation of a ring from the individual spring plate elements, but also provide the fastening holes that are necessary for fastening the tube holder element and the retaining element. It is particularly preferred when the spring washer is made up of six spring plate elements arranged in a ring, wherein the individual spring plate elements at their mutually facing ends are movably connected to one another by hollow pins. Of the six hollow pins that are necessary for connecting the individual spring plate elements, in each case three may be used for fastening the tube holder element and the retaining element.

In addition, it is advantageous when the spring plates or spring plate elements are designed in each case as a spring assembly made up of multiple individual plates. This advantage may be applied to any of the above-mentioned designs of spring washers. When a spring plate or spring plate element is constructed as a spring assembly, this has the advantage that on the one hand the spring action may be exactly determined, and on the other hand, if a single plate fails within a spring assembly the entire spring action is not lost.

In a preferred embodiment, the tube holder element is screwed to the spring element, and the retaining element is connected to the spring element from an opposite side of the spring element. This embodiment of a spring element that is installed between the tube holder element and the retaining element is preferred due to the simple, space-saving design. However, other embodiments are conceivable in which, for example, the spring element is used as a connecting element, or the retaining element engages around the spring element so that the tube holder element and the retaining element are connected to the spring element from the same side.

It is further proposed that the connections are provided via screws, wherein the screws for connecting the tube holder element to the spring element pass through the retaining element in a contactless manner, and in each case engage with a female thread in the tube holder element, and the screws for connecting the retaining element to the spring element pass through the tube holder element in a contactless manner, and in each case engage with a female thread in the retaining element. In this design, with an appropriate formation of an inner space in the tube holder element and the retaining element, the spring element may be inserted into this inner space. This results in the advantage that the susceptibility of the spring system to soiling is reduced. In addition, due to the overall low installation height of the tube holder, retrofitting on older machines is possible. The installation height of the tube holder may be adapted to existing devices as desired, so that no modification of existing winding machines is necessary for use of a tube holder according to the invention.

As an alternative to the above design of the connections, the hollow pins may have a female thread. In this way, screws may be used that do not have to be guided through the oppositely situated component. The tube holder element as well as the retaining element may be screwed to the spring element directly via the female thread of the hollow pins.

In addition, a bobbin frame having two retaining arms situated in parallel is proposed, wherein a first tube holder is provided on a first retaining arm, and a second tube holder oppositely directed from the first tube holder is provided on a second retaining arm. At least one of the tube holders is designed according to the above description, and its retaining element is rotatably fastened to the retaining arm. Equipping a bobbin frame in this way advantageously allows the attachment of a direct drive for the bobbin tube, as the result of which the second tube holder is connected to the drive. The first tube holder is preferably arranged so that it is displaceable in its longitudinal axis. Due to the axially displaceable arrangement of the tube holder, it may be moved in its axial position when a bobbin becomes full, and the full bobbin may be removed from the tube holder and a new, empty bobbin tube inserted.

Furthermore, a winding device for winding yarn onto a tube is proposed, having a bobbin frame according to the above description.

Further advantages of the invention are described in the following exemplary embodiments, as shown in the following figures:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a bobbin frame according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of the bobbin frame according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a tube holder according to the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a spring element according to the invention;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic illustration of another embodiment of a spring element according to the invention; and

FIG. 6 shows a schematic sectional illustration at location X-X according to FIG. 5,

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view, and FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view, of a bobbin frame 1 according to the prior art. The bobbin frame 1 is made up of a swivel arm 4 having a swivel axis 5, and a first retaining arm 2 and a second retaining arm 3. The retaining arms 2 and 3 are nonrotatably fastened at opposite ends of the swivel arm 4. A swivel motion 38 of the swivel arm 4 thus causes the retaining arms 2 and 3 together with the swivel arm to be swiveled about the swivel axis 5. The swivel arm 4 is held in a machine frame 22 via corresponding stanchions 20. In addition, tube holders 6 and 7 are rotatably mounted opposite from one another at the end of the respective retaining arms 2 and 3 opposite from the swivel arm 4 via a bearing bolt 11 and 12, respectively. The first bearing bolt 11 together with a first tube holder 6 and a second bearing bolt 12 together with a second tube holder 7 are situated in a shared longitudinal axis 8. A bobbin tube 9 is clamped between the tube holders 6 and 7. One of the two tube holders, for example the tube holder 6, or its bearing bolt 11 is held in the retaining arm 2 so that it is displaceable in the direction of the longitudinal axis 8. In this way, a bobbin tube 9 may be inserted between the tube holders 6 and 7, and the tube holder 6 may subsequently be pressed against the tube holder 7, thus clamping the bobbin tube 9. In the embodiment shown, the tube holder 7 is connected to a drive wheel 13 in the longitudinal axis. The drive wheel 13 is set in rotation by a drive element 14, for example a chain drive, which results in rotation of the bobbin tube 9 due to the connection to the tube holder 7.

Situated in parallel to the longitudinal axis 8 of the bobbin tube 9 is a backing roller 10 on which the bobbin tube 9 comes to rest due to the swivel motion 35 of the swivel arm 4 about the swivel axis 5. The backing roller 10 is rotatably fastened in the machine frame 22 via corresponding mountings 21. As a result of the rotation of the bobbin tube 9 in a corresponding rotational direction 19, a thread 17 that is laid on the bobbin tube 9 is wound onto the bobbin tube 9, and a bobbin 18 is formed. During this winding operation, a traverse unit 15 moves the thread 17 back and forth along the longitudinal axis 8 of the bobbin tube 9. Various types of windings or bobbins 18 may be produced on the bobbin tube 9 by means of this movement direction 16 of the traverse unit 15. The bobbin 18 increases in diameter due to the formation of a winding on the bobbin tube 9, so that the contact with the backing roller 10 causes the bobbin frame 1 to be swiveled by the backing roller 10 about the swivel axis 5. During the winding operation, the thread 17 is clamped between the bobbin tube 9, or the thread 17 that is already wound onto the bobbin tube 9, and the backing roller 10, resulting in a tight winding on the bobbin tube 9.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a tube holder 7 according to the invention. The tube holder 7 is fastened to the retaining arm 3 via a bearing bolt 12. The bearing bolt 12 is mounted in the retaining arm 3 so that it is rotatable about the longitudinal axis 8, the tube holder 7 being nonrotatably mounted on the bearing bolt 12. The tube holder 7 is formed from a tube holder element 23, a retaining element 24, and a spring element 25. The tube holder element 23 has a female thread 26 for fastening the spring element 25. Screws 30 for fastening the tube holder element 23 to the spring element 25, are provided that pass through a passage opening 29 in the retaining element 24 in a contactless manner and engage with the female thread 26 in the tube holder element 23. Screws 32 for fastening the retaining element 24 to the spring element 25 are provided that pass through a passage opening passage opening 27 in the tube holder element 23 in a contactless manner and engage with a female thread 31 in the retaining element 24. In the illustration shown, the spring element 25 is provided in an embodiment according to FIG. 5, and has fastening holes in the form of hollow pins 28. The screws 30 and 32 are guided through the hollow pins 28 in order to fasten the tube holder element 23 and the retaining element 24 to the spring element 25.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of one embodiment of a spring element 25 according to the invention. The spring element 25 is formed from a spring plate 33 in the shape of a ring. The spring plate 33 has a hexagonal shape with rounded corners, and has a central circular opening 34. Six concentrically arranged fastening holes 35 that are uniformly distributed over the circumference are provided for fastening in the tube holder 7 (see FIG. 3), wherein three fastening holes 35 are used in each case for fastening the tube holder element 23 and the retaining element 24.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic illustration of another embodiment of a spring element 25 according to the invention, and FIG. 6 shows a schematic sectional illustration at location X-X according to FIG. 5. The spring element 25 is made up of six elongated spring plate elements 36, 37 arranged in a hexagon. The spring plate elements 36, 37 at their respective ends are movably connected to one another via a hollow pin 28. A first spring plate element 36 and a second spring plate element 27 overlap at the position of a respective hollow pin 28, and have a corresponding opening for accommodating the hollow pin 28.

The present invention is not limited to the illustrated and described exemplary embodiments. Modifications within the scope of the patent claims are possible as well as a combination of the features, even when they are illustrated and described in different exemplary embodiments.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1 bobbin frame -   2 first retaining arm -   3 second retaining arm -   4 swivel arm -   5 swivel axis -   6 first tube holder -   7 second tube holder -   8 longitudinal axis of the bobbin tube -   9 bobbin tube -   10 backing roller -   11 first bearing bolt -   12 second bearing bolt -   13 drive wheel -   14 drive element -   15 traverse unit -   16 movement direction of the traverse unit -   17 thread -   18 bobbin -   19 rotational direction of the bobbin -   20 stanchion -   21 mounting for the backing roller -   22 machine frame -   23 tube holder element -   24 retaining element -   25 spring element -   26 female thread -   27 passage opening in the tube holder element -   28 hollow pin -   29 passage opening in the retaining element -   30 screw for the tube holder element -   31 female thread -   32 screw for the retaining element -   33 spring plate -   34 central opening -   35 fastening hole -   36 first spring plate element -   37 second spring plate element -   38 swivel motion 

1. A tube holder (6, 7) for a bobbin frame (1) of a winding device, having a conical tube holder element (23), a retaining element (24), and a spring element (25), characterized in that the tube holder element (23) is nonrotatably connected to the retaining element (24) via the spring element (25), and the spring element (25) is designed as a spring washer. 2-12. (canceled) 